


A Pocket Guide to Ba Sing Se

by Lavanya_Six



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Canon Compliant, Colonialism, Complete, False Document, One Shot, Other, Racism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-02-11
Updated: 2011-02-11
Packaged: 2017-10-15 14:12:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/161610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lavanya_Six/pseuds/Lavanya_Six
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You and your outfit are now charged with overseeing the peaceful occupation of Ba Sing Se. While this mission is a military one, it is very different from the kind you may be used to, for your battlefield will be in the hearts and minds of the city's inhabitants.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Pocket Guide to Ba Sing Se

  


  
**A Pocket Guide to Ba Sing Se**   
_  
**Prepared by**   
_   
**THE DEPARTMENT OF URBAN OCCUPATION,  
MINISTRY OF COLONIAL AFFAIRS**   


  


* * *

  
**INTRODUCTION**   


BA SING SE has been at war with the Fire Nation for one hundred years. During that time, she has resisted any attempt by our people to conquer her militarily. It was only by the cunning of Princess Azula and Prince Zuko that finally brought defeat to the Earth Kingdom's capital.

You and your outfit are now charged with overseeing the peaceful occupation of Ba Sing Se. It is in your hands that the Fire Lord has entrusted the safekeeping of our empire's crown jewel. While this mission is a military one, it is very different from the kind you may be used to, for your battlefield will be in the hearts and minds of the city's inhabitants.

The purpose of this guide to aid you in understanding the culture and customs of Ba Sing Se. It will only take you 15 minutes to read and will enhance your ability to perform your sworn duty to Fire Lord and country. This will be vital since you and the other members of the occupation force will be outnumbered 170-1.

* * *

  
**FORGET YOUR OLD NOTIONS**   


YOU MAY have encountered Earth Kingdom civilians during the course of your military career, or during your initial training in the Colonies. Such people would have lived in designated residential zones in the Colonies where their safety could be assured, or in villages that you helped incorporate into the empire. The residents of such villages boasted poor hygiene, illiteracy, and backwards gender-specific labor restrictions. These are not your typical Ba Sing Se residents. Would you judge residents of the Fire Nation Capital by a small village you found on a random rainforest island? Of course not. That would be ridiculous.

Ba Sing Se was the capital of the Earth Kingdom. As such, it was a bastion of civilization that was unsurpassed until the Sozin Era. While its residents have fallen behind in the Great March of Civilization these past hundred years, their traditions are nowhere near as backwards as you'd expect from foreigners. This is because they have not experienced the privilege of life in our culture, not because of any inherent fault to their condition.

Dissident elements within Ba Sing Se's populace will harp on antiquated notions like that there are four nations, no more and no less. They will say that we look down on earthbenders and their kin as sub-humans. If you treat the people of Ba Sing Se any differently than you would your own countrymen and countrywomen, then you're playing right into the rebels' hands. Remember that!

The people of Ba Sing Se will have their own expectations of the Fire Nation military. Again, it is your duty to show them that their beliefs are mistaken by setting a positive example.

* * *

  
**THE EARTH KINGDOMERS ARE LIKE US**   


OF ALL the backwards peoples of the world, the Earth Kingdom is the most like Fire Nation. We share a love of culture and duty.

One likeness we share is that we are both humorous peoples. They too laugh at the same stock jokes - inept bureaucrats, healers, and Water Tribals. Firebender and earthbender alike can laugh over waterbenders shivering inside their snow houses.

The residents of Ba Sing Se are also a meticulous, hard-working people. Any soldier assigned to occupation duty will have to travel through the famed Agricultural Zone. It is through centuries of diligent labor and collective administration that the desert wastes that surrounded Ba Sing Se have been transformed into fertile farmlands that feed this metropolis's 12,500,000 inhabitants.

Those farmers who live in the Agricultural Zone understand, like our brave colonists do, that their city brethren depend on them as a vital social link in the chain of civilization that binds them together.

* * *

  
**YOUR FIRST IMPRESSIONS**   


YOUR first impression of Ba Sing Se may be that you are witnessing a nightmarish scene culled from a satirist's dark parody of city life. You might ask yourself or your comrades how so many people could be packed into so small a space without going mad. Such feelings are understandable. Your unease will pass in time as you adjust your notion of what qualifies as acceptable living space.

Next you might be surprised by how clean the city appears, despite it seeming overpopulated. This is because Ba Sing Se boasts two of the Four Wonders of the World, just like the Fire Nation does. While Ba Sing Se's intricate and extensive network of subterranean sewers might not get the attention that the fertile Agricultural Zone or the mighty Gates of Azulon do, their design must be appreciated for its effectiveness.

Residents of the city have a saying: "Your rights end at my nose." Cleanliness is prized in Ba Sing Se despite the lack of plentiful hot water one would find in a Fire Nation city. As such, residents favor perfumed soaps and incense to compensate for government-mandated water rationing. Watch yourself before you comment on someone's odor in Ba Sing Se. It can be taken as a great insult, which is undesirable. Grit your teeth and bear unpleasant odors while associating with civilians. They do not realize the affect their cover-ups have on the untrained.

Consequently, if you are a firebender, your services will be much-appreciated by the natives of Ba Sing Se. Hot water for bathing is considered a luxury of the Middle and Upper Rings, since fuel is also rationed by the city government.

* * *

  
**GIRLS FROM BA SING SE**   


ONE CANNOT speak of Ba Sing Se without mentioning its famed female population. While occupation authorities encourage friendly and respectful fraternization, there are express limits to your actions.

In order to foster good relations between the Fire Nation and its newest subjects, General Order 12 has been issued. It states that any soldier found guilty by a military tribunal of raping a civilian within Ba Sing Se will be publicly executed to serve as a warning to his or her fellows. Since our glorious occupation has outlawed the backwards Ba Sing Se method of exacting justice - impressment until asphyxiation - a guilty party will be subjected to the most humane of methods: death by hanging.

While some fraternization between soldiers and civilians is unavoidable, bear in mind that General Order 13 forbids inter-national marriage. Remember: miscegenation isn't just immoral, it's against the law. Any soldier found to have fathered or to be carrying a half-breed child will be subject to an 800 _li_ fine and thirty days in jail. Any civilian found guilty of being party to this unpatriotic crime will receive twenty lashings and six months imprisonment.

* * *

  
**THE DAI LI**   


WHILE the notion of employing earthbenders as law enforcement agents in occupied territory seems unthinkable, it is important to remember that the Dai Li have a long history of maintaining the peace and security of Ba Sing Se. Since Chin's Rebellion some 370 years ago, the Dai Li have constantly safeguarded the cultural heritage of Ba Sing Se. It is this spirit of forward-thinkingness and their appreciation for civilization that led them to serve Princess Azula and Prince Zuko in the takeover of Ba Sing Se.

You should think of the Dai Li as being similar in function to the Fire Nation's Judicial Soldiers Corps. However, unlike them, the Dai Li have never possessed any connection to their country's military. They are a civilian law enforcement agency.

Recently there have been several highly public incidents involving extra-judicial acts committed against Dai Li or suspected Dai Li agents by the civilians of Ba Sing Se. Because of this, nighttime curfews are now strictly enforced. Be prepared to present identification if you are stopped by patrols during the night. The Dai Li are the Fire Nation's trusted friends. In order to demonstrate our good word among the city's residents, we must protect these valuable allies.

* * *

  
**FORBIDDEN SUBJECTS OF CONVERSATION**   


IN ORDER TO foster good relations, soldiers are advised to avoid engaging civilians in conversation about certain topics. Please be advised that the following subjects are considered sensitive and, for the sake of peace and harmony in the Fire Lord's latest domain, should not be broached if at all possible:

* The issue of Earth Kingdom land or property confiscated during the pacification and absorption of unlawful zones into the Fire Nation Colonies.

* Whether someone is a native to Ba Sing Se or a refugee.

* The location or status of a refugee's former hometown.

* The Fire Nation Colonies and our colonists.

* The 600 Day Siege of Ba Sing Se.

* The Dai Li.

* The deposed Earth King Kuei.

* The executions of the Council of Five and Long Feng.

* Supreme Bureaucratic Administrator Joo Dee.

* Anything relating to the Avatar.

* Insurrections in other Fire Nation administered territories.

* If a civilian is happy or not under Fire Nation rule.

* Sozin's Comet.

* * *

  
**IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER**   


YOU MIGHT be surprised to see that a minority of Ba Sing Se's residents, mostly among the refugee class in the Lower Ring, boast Fire Nation features. While a century ago golden irises might have clearly distinguished one as a foreigner to the Earth Kingdom, today illicit intermixing by wayward colonials has blurred the line between our two peoples. Be cautious of those mongrels who would take advantage of their outwardly friendly features at your expense. These half-breeds are still subject to General Order 13 with regards to pure-blooded soldiers.

It is uncommon but legal for two persons of the same gender to be considered romantically involved in Ba Sing Se. This is because the Earth Kingdom did not instill the importance of family life and raising children in their citizens. For the sake of good relations with the Fire Lord's new subjects, please do not point out the unproductive backwardness of this behavior.

The most severe insult in Ba Sing Se's culture is to knock down a wall or door. It is analogous to profaning the Fire Lord's character. Unless the execution of your duties to the Fire Nation absolutely demands it, NEVER knock down a wall or door.

Ba Sing Se residents prize compliance to law and order. Calmly explain the illegality of someone's actions and they will defer to your judgment as an agent of the occupational authorities. Shouting is unnecessary.

Because of the extreme urban density of Ba Sing Se's Lower and Middle Rings, people live in close quarters with only thin walls to separate their apartments. Thus speaking conversationally in a loud voice is considered impolite.

Unlike in rural areas, it is not considered strange in Ba Sing Se for females to hold jobs or to ask men out on dates.

One cannot speak of Ba Sing Se without mentioning its public monorail system. While it might be unnerving to see earthbenders practicing their abilities in public, be at ease. These are government employees, licensed under and bound by the Treaty of Assimilation signed by Ba Sing Se's Supreme Bureaucratic Administrator. They are here to help and serve you.

The seats at the front of every monorail car are reserved by unspoken custom for the elderly, the pregnant, or wounded veterans.

If a monorail fills up after you've boarded, be a gracious victor and give your seat up for local residents.

* * *

  
**YOU ARE OUR AMBASSADOR**   


NEVER IN WARTIME has so great a prize been won with so little bloodshed. Thanks to your Prince and Princess, Ba Sing Se is now where it always belonged - in Fire Nation hands. We have an unprecedented opportunity to step forward, together, with our new allies in Ba Sing Se into a brave future under Fire Lord Ozai's rule.

Your good behavior is the key to ensuring the success of the occupation. Don't jeopardize the mission. Millions of wary Earth Kingdomer eyes are watching you, waiting to see if you betray the fragile trust they have for their new masters.

* * *

  
  
_For use by military personnel only. Not to be redistrubted, in whole or in part, without the consent of the Ministry of Colonial Affairs._   
  


**Author's Note:**

> So my fic here is pretty weird. It's actually based on [this real-world document](http://cbi-theater-2.home.comcast.net/~cbi-theater-2/booklet/guide-to-china.html), titled "A Pocket Guide to China". It was issued by the U.S. War Department to American soldiers who were serving in China during the Second World War. I took my fic's section headings from it, as well as the general vibe. Oh, and the bit about how 'two cultures share a love of jokes'.
> 
> The major difference is that, in real life, this sort of guide was issued to soldiers who were serving as allies to the Chinese against a common enemy (the Japanese). The guide in my fic is for soldiers who are serving as a occupying force in a foreign country.


End file.
